The Learner

Muhsin Ibrahim  muhsin2008@gmail.com  Facebook, or any other social media, is no longer what it used to be: a mere, innocuous social networking site for friending, chatting, sharing pictures and the like. It is, today, a life-shaping platform. This and a whole host of other reasons, therefore, call for parents, guardians, and all to be (more) wary of how, and of course who, their children, wards, younger siblings, etc., interact with. I will give three (3) examples.  First, the Internet, in general, is a harbour for amassed pornographic content. Recently, the Indian government banned the viewing of pornographic content in its country. But under pressure and protest, they had to lift the ban. Currently, there are many pages for that on Facebook and in WhatsApp chat groups, etc. The children can be intelligent, but not necessarily smarter. Devise ways to curtail this through the most effective means.  While the first danger could easily be detected, the second o...

Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com A famous line from Shakespeare’s celebrated Romeo and Juliet poses a question: “What is in a name?” While Juliet believes that there’s nothing significant in a name, for Romeo will remain her heartthrob irrespective of his family’s name, affiliation matters in many other places, such as Nigeria. The play, if adapted and set here, would (should) be different. There is so much meaning attached to names in the Nigerian socio-political context and discourse. Perhaps that is why the former governor of the Nigerian apex bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (SLS), quickly changed his name to Muhammadu Sanusi II upon ascending the throne as the Emir of Kano in 2014. Other possible reasons could be his effort to start life afresh, free of politics, to maintain the tradition, and to revive the genealogy of his grandfather, who was also an emir. The then SLS was well known as a very vocal, daring and assertive public intellectual. Lo, the same old SLS keeps o...